


this is it

by currahees



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: M/M, Sad Ending, This Is Sad, fair warning, im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 15:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/currahees/pseuds/currahees
Summary: the one in which joe gets a phone call that ruins everything.





	this is it

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry for this in advance, i was feeling angsty but apparently wrote pure sadness instead.  
(find me on tumblr, my username is speirtons)

“Georgie, promise you’ll text me when you make it to Perco’s,” Joe insists, balancing the phone between his shoulder and ear as he searches through their shared dresser.

George laughs through the phone, “I will don’t worry. Don’t forget about that dinner with Carwood and Ron tonight,” he adds.

At this, Joe lets out a small laugh. “I won’t forget. I’ll see you there tonight,” he smiles, both of them saying goodbye. Joe didn’t know what was going to happen later, how could he? He had no idea that his phone would ring in a few hours and he’d hear the words he’d never want to hear. If he did, he would have kept him talking for hours just to hear George laugh again. But alas, he had no idea.

Putting the phone down, he carries on his search. Hidden deep under the layers of gym shirts and shorts he finds the small velvet black box. He opens it to make sure the ring was still there; it was. George would never look through Joe’s gym clothes, hell Joe wasn’t even sure of the last time he saw George doing any sort of exercise. Snapping the box closed, he hides it back in the same place before heading out to the gym.

//

_“I don’t know why you’re bringin’ me,” Bill mumbles as they walk into the jewellers._

_“You’ve been trying to push us together since day one, I thought you’d want to be here for this,” Joe replies. “Plus, you’re the only one I know who’s actually done this before,” he adds._

_“Winters and Nix have been married for years!” He retorts, before giving up. “I don’t blame you, ol’ Bill here is the best in romantic situations.” Joe rolls his eyes at him and drags him to one of the ring counters, ready to bombard him with questions._

_“You’re surprisingly calm,” Bill commentates after a while of looking around. “When I was lookin’ for Fran’s I was shittin’ myself the whole time.”_

_Joe shrugs, scanning another set of rings. “It just feels right. If it was anyone else I’d be a wreck but with George, it feels good. Like it’s meant to be.” His eyes land on a ring in the middle of the display. It’s simple but there’s an option to engrave it listed under the information panel. He asks to view that one and as soon as it’s in his hand he knows its the one._

_Bill whistles softly, Joe smiling to himself. He knew he could propose to George with a gummy ring and he’d say yes, but this one jumped out at him. “I think I found the one,” he mumbles, turning it over in his hand._

_As soon as he brought it home he stuffed it in his gym clothes drawer, waiting for the right moment_.

//

Joe finished his work out early, deciding to head home for a shower instead of a quick one in the gym's facilities. Getting into his car he turns on the radio, George’s CD still in the player from the night before. He doesn’t change it, he lets it play. George didn’t strike him as the person who liked indie music but after the first few months of dating, he realised George wasn’t as two dimensional as originally thought.

//

_Joe blinks his eyes open, turning over to look at the clock on the table. It was 2 am, but he could hear music playing softly downstairs. Rubbing his eyes and throwing the blanket off, he shivers against the cold winter air before heading downstairs._

_He finds George sat at their kitchen table, music playing from the CD player in the corner of the room. There’s a book propped open in front of him and he’s half concentrated on it._

_“Georgie?” Joe asks, his eyes adjusting to the bright light of the room._

_George looks up and sighs, “ah shit, Joe. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”_

_Joe shakes his head, “nah, it’s okay. Couldn’t sleep?” He asks. George sighed again, his answer clear. “C’mon,” Joe mumbled, grabbing his hand and gently pulling him up._

_“What are you doin’?” George asks, following Joe’s movement._

_“Dancin’, ain’t it obvious?” Joe replies, his lips turned upwards in a soft smile. “Dance with me, you idiot.”_

_George laughs out loud, giving in. “Hell of an idea, Joe.”_

//

Joe gets home, showers and changes for their dinner that night. He’s about to call George to ask where he is before his phone starts ringing. It’s Gene calling him. Confused, he answers the phone.

“Hey, Gene. What’s up?”

“Joe, I-I don’t know how to say this,” Gene’s exhausted voice comes through, sending a wave of panic through Joe.

“Say what?” Joe repeats, gripping the phone tighter with every passing second.

Gene hesitates, “It’s George. He-well-you best get down here.”

Joe stopped breathing, “What do you mean?” He whispers, afraid of the answer.

“It’s not looking good. He was brought in five minutes ago, he’s getting prepped for surgery. Joe, it doesn’t look good. At all.”

Joe’s already grabbing his keys and rushing out the door, not bothering to grab anything else. “Gene, please. For the love of God, tell me what happened.”

“Accident, someone ran a light and George just happened to be crossing the road at that very moment. He’s critical, we can’t stabilise him. You need to be here if... well, you just need to be here.”

Joe knew what Gene wasn’t saying. _You need to be here if he doesn’t make it. This could be the end._

//

All Joe could see was George laughing. They’re sat on the couch in their first apartment, it’s worn down and needs some TLC but it’s _theirs_. George has a smile on his face that reaches his eyes, he’s laughing so hard he can’t breathe and his hand is on Joe’s leg. Joe’s laughing just as hard, his heart felt as if it was glowing. This was love. This was the moment he replayed in his mind until it became a faded memory.

**Author's Note:**

> im crying pls this wrecked me, i cant believe i did this to george my love.  
-  
Not a representation of the real men, this work is based off the portrayals in the HBO mini series. No disrespect intended towards the real war veterans. Not edited.


End file.
